Alan shivered.
It should have been a warm start to a warm day for the young physicist shuffling sleepily down the boardwalk. But this day- the one day Alan would be spending a significant portion of his morning outdoors- the wanton nature of springtime weather decided to wander back towards its crisp, wintery cousin. The sky was overcast, the wind was blowing lethargic and chilling, and the air was filled with the frozen stillness of an earlier season. And so, Alan was cold. Cold enough to rethink the nature of his morning objective, and certainly cold enough to bring his blanket with him.
Alan had woken up an hour before his appointment with Pearl, leaving him plenty of time to take a quick car-wash shower and grab some manner of breakfast. What he hadn't accounted for, however, was how long he would spend sitting on his cot, shivering and trying to work up the courage to leave his lumpy bastion of warmth. Neither had he accounted for how long he would spend standing outside of the car-wash, attempting to draw from the same reserve of courage to take his shower. Nor for how very much colder he would be after said shower when he re-entered the brisk morning air.
So now, damp, cold, and wrapped tightly in a plain, white blanket, Alan was shuddering his way to the beach house. And he couldn't shake the feeling that he did, indeed, look ridiculous.
I'm glad no-one's out here. I don't want to get a reputation as the town bedsheet ghost or morning shiver-er or... something.
Shivering again, Alan pulled the blanket tighter around himself and decided that his mental faculties would be better spent on futile pondering.
What should my first question be? It should probably be something important, right? I want to make a good, um... eighth? Yes, eighth impression. Maybe... oh! I know! I'll ask her what her definition of an elementary particle is! Wait, no, that's absurd. Everyone knows that. How about her explanation of the phenomenon of quantum entanglement? Oh, but what if she just starts laughing about quantum mechanics again? I'd rather avoid such a... situation. Hmm. I guess the right thing to ask would be-
"Alan! You are one entire minute early. I commend your initiative!"
Alan stumbled a bit, snapping to attention. He hadn't noticed that he had left the uneven pavement and worn wooden planks of the boardwalk. He hadn't noticed that he had been trudging through sand for the past several minutes. What he did notice, however, was Pearl, standing a little ways up from of the beach-house. But that was something Alan easily could have missed, wrapped up as he was in distracting himself from the cold. What made the scene noticeable was the decor. Wedged into the uneven sand, and balanced impeccably with loose rocks, was a chalkboard. And, next to it, a wooden table. And, on that, a roll of plastic wrap and a carton of eggs.
I... I have to ask about the plastic wrap and eggs, Alan's treasonous instincts told him, brushing aside all previous arguments like a layer of fresh snow. But, as he opened his mouth to obey his inane curiosity, a second observation interrupted him.
Here I am, wearing my warmest clothes and attempting to fully insulate myself with my blanket, and she's just... standing around. In that same tunic-with-sash-and-leggings outfit she always wears.
"Why the tunic?"
Pearl raised an eyebrow, and Alan would have brought a palm to his face if his hands weren't so occupied keeping warmth from escaping the confines of his blanket.
Nooo, this is a terrible eighth impression!
"Is there a problem with my clothing? I think it's much more practical than the outfit I used to wear. Hm. Well, I suppose I'm just not as sensitive to the cold as, um..." Pearl gave Alan a scrutinizing look that made him very self conscious about how tightly he was gripping his blanket. "...as you appear to be. No worries! I came prepared."
With a triumphant smirk, Pearl produced an old burlap jacket from beneath the table, spreading it out by the sleeves like a proud emblem to her foresight. It looked as worn as it was durable; the button-holes ragged with use, the pockets bereft of their enclosing flaps, and the fringes of each edge frayed by wear and weather. But to Alan, the jacket just looked warm.
"It was Greg's," Pearl said, answering Alan's puzzled look. "He likes to give Steven his old apparel, but it doesn't all exactly... fit." Pearl looked back and forth between the jacket and Alan, spreading the shoulders wider to get a better estimate. Shrugging, she handed the piece of clothing over to the grateful, shivering physicist, who went about replacing his blanket as quickly as he could.
"Why is it so... blue? And what's with this star on the back?"
"Oh, Greg was something of a musician when he was younger. And I use the term 'musician' in the most modest sense. Surely his... wailing couldn't have been more pleasant than my-!" Pearl interrupted herself with an irate sigh, massaging her temples to clear the discontent from her attitude. "May I ask you something?"
Alan nodded, struggling to untangle the blanket from the knot of fastening loops it had formed around his arms and waist.
"Why are you wearing your beddings? The jacket was a precautionary measure I took after reading this morning's weather report."
Alan laughed sheepishly, finally pulling the blanket off with one last, mighty tug. "Well, I don't really, you know... own a jacket. Or, um, much more than what I'm wearing, at this point in my life."
"Oh," Pearl replied, brow dropping slightly in what Alan imagined might have been concern. "In that case, feel free to keep the jacket. I'm not keen on watching Steven tout in about anyway. And... don't worry. I'm sure that you will establish yourself here in no time, what with your regular employment and all."
At the rate at which generous Beach City residents are gifting me housing, apparel, and work, I'm sure I'll have an entire second-hand estate by summer's end.
Alan finally managed to slip both arms into the sleeves of his new jacket. Bunching one side up above his forearm, he watched the fabric unfold and fall slightly past his fingers. "It's a little big," Alan concluded, letting the rest of the jacket loose and watching it hang well past his waist, "but it's warm. And quite cozy! Pearl, I-... this was very nice. Thank you."
Pearl nodded- eyes closed, satisfied grin on display, and head tilted upwards, just so, in victory. "I knew it would come in handy. Now, on to our first lesson!"
Pearl took her place, positioning herself strategically within arms reach of both the chalkboard and the items on the table. Then, crouching down to eye-level with the table, she very carefully pulled at the plastic wrap until an exact square was exposed, ripping it off with a quick, precise movement. Looking the square over once more to verify its equal dimensions, she held it out for Alan to take.
"Is there anything in particular you would like me to do with this piece of Saran wrap?" Alan asked, cautiously taking the square from Pearl to prevent any deformation of its painstakingly-achieved shape.
"Pardon?" Pearl raised an eyebrow while picking an egg out of the carton with each hand. "With the...? Oh! You must mean the plastic wrap. I suppose 'Saran wrap' is the genericized brand term for plastic wrap in this region? Interesting."
If by 'this region' she means 'all of North America,' then yes.
"Hold it horizontally, please. I am going to place this egg on it." Alan complied, staring intently as Pearl fulfilled her promise and placed an egg exactly in the center of the plastic sheet. "Now, if you would pull it taught- yes, just like that. Perfect! Okay."
Placing a single, steadying finger on the egg, Pearl struck an expository pose. "Take this egg to be an elementary particle."
Aw, I should've asked what her definition of an elementary particle is!
"Now, this side of the plastic wrap represents the dimension this particle resides in," Pearl continued, rolling the egg around slightly in emphasis.
"And is that our dimension?"
"I... suppose. It hardly matters, but... yes. For the sake of discussion, let us call the top side of the plastic wrap 'our' dimension. Now, every particle in this- um, in our- dimension is subject to an array of fundamental interactions. These include the weak nuclear force, the strong nuclear force, electromagnetic force, and gravitational force." Pearl underlined her last point by pressing down with one finger on the plastic wrap, causing the egg to roll into the small depression she had formed.
Except the influence of gravity is negligible on subatomic particles.
"Of course, gravitational influence would be much less dramatic on an actual subatomic particle," Pearl said, lifting her finger and stopping the egg's movement with a careful hand. "But, you understand my point."
Ah. Yes. Apparently, I shouldn't doubt your aptitude for self-corrective qualifying statements, Pearl. Alan nodded energetically, still trying to keep some of the morning chill at bay. And, admittedly, shaking away the glib comments that were threatening to make their way to his tongue.
"Good!" Pearl beamed, pleased that her lesson had begun so promisingly. Taking the other egg, she held it underneath the plastic wrap, touching it very lightly to the taught surface. "Now, take this other egg to be another elementary particle, and let this side of the plastic wrap represent the dimension it resides in."
"And that dimension is distinct from ours?"
"Correct!" Pearl affirmed. "Now, normally, these two particles would go about their elementary business without ever interacting with each other." Pearl let the top egg go and started moving the bottom one about, making a big deal of emphasizing that the top egg was, in fact, not moving. Alan tracked the small, white oval with his eyes, nodding along at the validity of her statement.
"However, some particles have the ability to exert an influence across dimensional boundaries." Pearl pushed the bottom egg up slightly, causing an egg-shaped bump on rise from the plastic sheet. As the bottom egg was moved again, Alan watched the top egg tumble about with it. "This is called a transdimensional interaction."
Transdimensional interaction? Is that supposed to be some kind of new force or something?
"And what causes it?"
"Hm? Oh, that is unknown," Pearl responded, grabbing a third egg as she spoke. "The capacity for a particle to take part in a transdimensional interaction is a physical property of the particle, like mass or charge. And, much like gravitational or electromagnetic interaction, we don't know what compels the forces that act upon said property to behave the way they do. They simply... do. They exist, and it is an inescapable fact of our universe. Now, would you fold the plastic wrap in half? Yes, right over the egg. Perfect! Now, make sure the top and bottom halves are horizontal- yes, very good! We don't want to break any elementary particles due to errant tilting."
I would feel absolutely remiss if a particle broke on my account, Alan thought, leveling both layers of plastic wrap as best he could. Other than, you know, when we're hurtling them towards each other through an accelerator at ridiculous speeds and shattering them to study how their components diffuse. For science.
With an air of precision and grace, Pearl placed the third egg on what was now the top-most layer of plastic wrap. "This is a third elementary particle."
"Is it in the same dimension as the bottom-most egg?"
"That is exactly the dimension it belongs to!" Pearl said with a grin. "Consider the dimension with these two eggs our dimension. Oh, wait, we already said the dimension the middle egg is in is ours, didn't we? W-well, rescind that definition. The dimension with two eggs is now our dimension."
Alan stared for a moment, looking back and forth between the layering of eggs and plastic before he successfully decoded which dimension was, in fact, theirs. "Got it."
"Okay. Now, a single particle may affect- and be affected by- more than one particle in a different dimension. When both of the other particles involved in this third particle's interaction are in the same dimension," Pearl said, trying very hard to point at the right eggs at the right time with her right hand, "then the two particles in the same dimension appear to have an interaction with each other."
Pearl pushed the bottom-most egg up again, causing the middle egg to slide slightly out of place and send the top egg rolling. Alan initiated a series of frantic plastic-angling maneuvers to catch the egg, eventually shepherding it back to the center. "So, are you saying that quantum entanglement is caused by a series of particles, in another dimension, secretly interacting with both halves of an entangled pair?"
"Secretly?" Pearl said with a puzzled tone. "I-it's not a secret at all, I assure you! For example, I just told you about it. So... there. Besides, how else would you explain such distinct physical systems sharing a statistical correlation?"
Coincidence? Quantum magic?
"And don't say 'coincidence.'"
Alan closed his mouth before his next words could escape. I was actually going to say quantum magic, but... she probably wouldn't like that either. Still, if what she says is true...
"When one half of an entangled pair is observed, it collapses to a specific quantum state," Alan began. Pearl leaned in, an eager look engulfing her as she readied herself to answer Alan's question. "The other half of the entangled state may then be observed to collapse to the same quantum state. So, according to your model-"
"-intermediary transdimensional interactions are causing the states to align!" Pearl blurted, excited to impart her understanding to her apprentice. In demonstration, Pearl aligned all three eggs atop each other. Then, holding them in a column with the tips of her fingers, she began rotating the bottom-most egg. The middle egg began turning as well, causing the top egg to spin in the same direction as the bottom egg.
"See?" Pearl said, smiling at her own use of educational kitchen materials. "If this was how 'spin' in a particle's quantum state worked-"
But it's not.
"-which, of course, is not true-"
Oh, right. Self-corrective qualifying statements. Almost forgot. Sorry, Pearl.
"-but if it were true, then the spin between the top and bottom eggs- ahem, I mean the top and bottom particles- is the same because of influence from the middle particle. In another dimension."
Alan stared at the slowly rotating column of eggs. Pearl was grinning at them like a poet admiring one of her own particularly clever stanzas. The longer Alan stared, however, the lower Pearl's grin fell. Soon, it resembled a strained version of her neutral face rather than a pleasant expression. Is this... is this really what I'm going to spend my day on? Learning about some terribly convenient model of particle interaction that just... explains away some of the inherent mysteries in quantum mechanics? Without Pearl even substantiating any of these... these claims?
Suspension of disbelief can be achieved in two ways. The first is through willing action of the audience; to accept what is presented to them despite how hard to believe the information they are internalizing is. The second is through cognitive estrangement, wherein acceptance is promoted by stint of the audience's lack of knowledge. Alan wasn't sure which operating definition was most applicable to him. But he was aware that an essential component of suspension of disbelief was present in every unsubstantiated claim Pearl made.
There's always a semblance of truth.
And for Alan- for now- that was enough.
"So... how does one quantify a particle's capacity for transdimensional interaction?"
Pearl's face lit back up. She spun excitedly towards the blackboard and produced a piece of chalk, getting ready to expand upon the concepts she had just introduced. Before Pearl could begin what Alan was sure would be a predictably long-winded explanation, he interjected with one last question.
"Why the eggs?"
Pearl paused. Looking down at the bundle of plastic wrap and eggs Alan had gently set on the table, she brought a pondering finger to her chin. "Well, according to my research, eggs seem to be the standard elliptical teaching aid for scientific education."
Alan sucked in an unsure breath through his teeth, glancing sideways and trying to find the right words. Pearl frowned at his expression. "Was I... incorrect?"
Well, not really, but...
"We... don't really use eggs at, um... at this level."
Since we're not in high-school. Or middle-school. Or elementary school.
"Oh!" Pearl exclaimed, clasping her hands together abashedly. "Haha, well... I thought it was just some strange human custom that I had to-... right. Nevermind. Next time, I'll just use some sensible metallic spheres."
Pearl turned back to her blackboard, drawing two square planes parallel to each other. "Now, take these to be two separate dimensions."
Alan nodded, placing his hands on his hips and staring intently at the board. As Pearl began filling the board, and the air, with explanations and definitions and equations, Alan felt the first few rays of tentative sunlight break through the overcast sky.
I suppose I can just... learn it. Yeah. And as for whether it's real or not? That's...
Alan reached out and grabbed one of the scattered rays of light. It was warm on his palm; a soothing remedy to the chill surrounding him.
That's an issue for another day.
"...and those are the basic concepts behind particle-system-to-particle-system transdimensional interaction."
Pearl dusted the chalk off her hands, punctuating the finality of her point. Behind her was a chalkboard full of splotchy erasures, complex, looping figures, and more than one carefully drawn arrow leaving one side of the board and entering the other. In the center, somehow related to the chalky maelstrom of confusion surrounding them, were two circles, plainly labeled 'P-1' and 'P-2.'
That's practically the only part I understood, Alan bemoaned. He looked down at the notebook in his hands- promptly provided by Pearl when it was revealed that he had nothing to take notes with- and saw that his own interpretation was no clearer. I've never even seen some of these symbols before!
Mentally defeated and physically exhausted from standing for the past few hours, Alan relented. He plopped down on the soft sand beneath him, crossing his legs and flipping through page after page of hastily scrawled notes. Pearl raised an eyebrow. Tentatively, she sat down herself, mimicking Alan's pose. After a moment or so of silence, she looked at the piece of chalk in her hands, eyeballing the impractical distance between her hand and the chalkboard's surface. With a small shrug, Pearl grabbed both legs of the chalkboard. Then, with a motion as easy as pulling down a projector screen, she tugged the chalkboard down into the sand, sinking it up to the frame. Alan paused mid-page-turn, looking back and forth between the chalkboard and where the chalkboard used to be.
Did... did she just...?
Noticing Alan's half-gaping expression, Pearl furrowed her brow. "Is something the matter?"
"How did you...?"
Pearl followed his gaze to the chalkboard. And to where the chalkboard used to be. And back to the chalkboard again. "Oh. Well, I suppose I am stronger than the average human."
Alan nodded, unable to deny the validity of her claim. Wait, 'than the average human?' This isn't the first time she's mentioned people- humans- like they're...
The thought stopped itself, unwilling to continue where Alan was heading with it. But still... she's here. And she's entertaining questions; or, at least, has been for the past few hours. Maybe...
"Why do you mention 'human things' so explicitly?"
"Well, aren't they human things?"
A fair point.
"Yes, I suppose they are human things, but-"
"Then my choice of descriptive language is accurate, isn't it?" Pearl had already donned what Alan was beginning to recognize as her victory face. Eyes closed, smiling slightly, and head tilted upwards, just so.
At least it's easy to tell when she thinks she's right about something. And, given my experience, she usually is right about... something.
"So... I guess this is one of those things you can't tell me about?"
It was a guess. A piece of pure conjecture. One that Alan knew would fail. Pearl would deny it because it was incorrect, and her correct explanation would hold. Naturally. But, even though Alan knew it was just a guess, and even though Alan knew his guess would be wrong, he asked. Some small part of him- a part that took little heed to what he knew and what he thought was just a guess- compelled him to ask. It was the same small part that made him drive through the early hours of the morning to Beach City. The same part that made him talk to Pearl in the library. The same part that convinced him to accept Pearl's apprenticeship and buy a ten-dollar green rock and stand for hours outside on a cold morning learning how particles allegedly interact across dimensions. And it was the same small part that was so eagerly awaiting an answer, despite how sure Alan was that he had done nothing more than pose an incorrect guess.
"Ah," Pearl began.
"Hm," she continued.
"Hm?" she repeated, flustered.
"Hmm?! W-why do I... a... ahah. Hah! Haha, well. The thing about that is, um..." Pearl's sentence trailed off into a series of nervous laughs and half-started words. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and met Alan's questioning look. It was as though that single breath- that single moment staring at the back of her eyelids- had given her enough time to speak to herself and come to some sort of conclusion. One that she was now communicating to Alan with her own resolute gaze.
"Nothing untrue, Alan. It is something I would rather you not ask about. But, I just want it noted; my point was completely valid."
It is? It is! Well, that means there's something about it she doesn't want to answer, right? Something... something that could be amazing. Fantastic! Something that-... something that may be hidden for a good reason. Something that she may not want to talk about. Something... someone whose secrecy- no, whose privacy I should respect.
Alan sighed. Pearl returned his gesture with a worried look. Is she concerned that I'll make a fuss over this? Or... or leave or something? It's such a small request she's making; to be allowed to keep her own secrets secret.
Alan bowed briefly to Pearl, giving her a grin as his head rose. "Very well. And yes, your point was quite valid."
It doesn't bother me at all. Please understand.
Pearl returned his gesture once more, this time with a relieved expression. "Good. Yes. Good! Yes. Now, um... the lesson. Yes! I'm sure you didn't get all of that on the first pass."
Alan gave his notes another flip-through, nodding in defeat as he did. An astute observation.
"Well, that's okay! I didn't really expect you to. What's important is that you're exposed to the concepts. Now, we can get to the real material!"
Pearl swiveled in her spot on the sand and brought her chalk up to the board once more, the same excitement as before animating her every movement. But, before she could finish her first figure, a set of footsteps and a trio of loud, happy voices approached them from the beach-house.
"You ready fer this, Steven? We're gonna teach ya how to do back flips!"
"Woah! No way! I-is that true, Garnet?"
"Yeah. It's true. There's no way I'm teachin' you how to do back flips."
"Aww..."
"Yeah, c'mon, Garn! Lookit Steven's widdle face- jus' look at that widdle face!"
"...alrigh'. I can't say no to tha' face. But we're startin' with front flips."
As the chattering group grew closer, Alan and Pearl sat and stared in silence. The two wordlessly agreed that they might be able to pass as rocks or oddly shaped pieces of driftwood if they were still enough.
Aren't those the rest of Steven's not-aunts? I think Greg told me about them. That tall one must be, um... Gar... net? Yes. Garnet. And the purple one's Amethyst, I guess. Have I met them before? Oh, it's times like these that I wish I brought my name-booklet with me everywhere. It sure helped with the Frymans.
Unfortunately, Alan and Pearl's gambit failed. And, when Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven came upon them, they, too, became involved in the practice of standing still and remaining silent, staring in confusion at the two sitting on the beach before them. Finally, Garnet, the one most experienced at speaking suddenly after long periods of stoic silence, broke the group's apprehensive trance.
"Pea'l, who's this?"
"Yeah!" Amethyst chipped in, stomping the sand in front of her and causing Alan to flinch in surprise, "what's this dude doin' here? And why's the chalkboard out here? And- hey! I was gonna eat those eggs!"
"Well, Amethyst," Pearl said, crossing her arms, "you can still eat them. Though I doubt that any amount of exposure to the elements would have prevented you from doing so in the first place."
Amethyst shrugged, giving Pearl a 'that's-fair' look and grabbing the carton of eggs.
"Oh, and- yes, I suppose I forgot to tell you all, didn't I? Garnet, this is-"
"Hey Al-abama!" Steven cut in, waving his entire arm like a loose branch in the midst of a gale. The now-nervous physicist sitting in the sand before him returned the gesture, tentatively swinging his entire arm back and forth- just once- in greeting.
"Oh! Steven. You've... met him. I suppose that was to be expected, given that your father is his employer. But, for everyone else- this is Alan. My apprentice."
Pearl delivered her last statement proudly, smiling up at Garnet.
W-wait, don't look that proud about it! Now she's going to expect me to do... things! Maybe even impressive things!
Garnet crossed her arms, stared down at Alan, and hummed a prolonged, contemplative "hmm." Alan, in return, shifted uncomfortably in his sandy seat. He looked to Pearl for help, but found that she was occupied staring up expectantly at Garnet.
"Alrigh'," Garnet said at the end of her lengthy, nerve-wracking 'hmm.' "As long as he doesn't ge' in the way, that's fine."
"Thank you, Garnet," Pearl beamed. "I knew you would see the merit in my taking on an apprentice."
"Pfft," Amethyst scoffed. "An apprentice? What'rya, serious? Nobody even does all that apprentice jazz anymore, Pearl; it's, like, two billion years outta style."
"Well, I think it's way cool!" Steven said, looking at Pearl with stars in his eyes. Alan grinned to himself; Pearl, who was sitting upright on the ground, was exactly at eye level with his boss' easily excitable son. "Does that mean you're a master now? Like those ancient masters of sword fighting and secret wisdom from tee-vee?"
Pearl laughed, bringing her head up and snapping her hands forward, limply, in dismissal. "Nothing quite so... dominant, Steven. Although I do have both considerable talent with a sword and a veritable sea of, um... 'secret wisdom,' I am not a master. He is my apprentice. That is all."
"Heh. More like a puddle," Amethyst said, looking an egg over with idle interest. Pearl glared at her purple friend, whose cheeky smile only grew. Then, opening wide, she popped the egg into her mouth and swallowed it with a loud crunch.
Much to Alan's abject dismay.
Hey, did she just-... what! Y-you can't just... well, you can, evidently, because I just saw it happen, but- but that's not-! You can't just eat a raw egg!
"Y-you can't just eat a raw egg!" Alan's flustered centers of speech echoed. Amethyst finished scraping the remnants of the egg from her teeth with her tongue and regarded Alan with a disinterested look.
"Uh, well, I'm pretty sure I just did, so..."
"A-Amethyst!" Pearl said, aghast. "That was very rude! I think. It seemed rude, anyway. And it was disgusting! Please take your raw egg consumption elsewhere."
"Fine, birdface," Amethyst said, walking away with her carton of eggs held high in one hand. "I'll leave if eatin' bird eggs makes ya uncomfortable."
"Amethyst, you shouldn't make fun of her nose," Steven said, trailing Amethyst. "It's not nice."
"Yeah, well... yeah. You're right. I'll make it up ta her later, 'kay?" Amethyst responded in a loud whisper to the bouncing boy next to her. Garnet was the last to leave, giving Alan a long, unreadable stare before following the other two. But, before they were out of sight, Garnet turned around again. Alan couldn't tell where exactly she was looking, but it seemed distant. Far more distant than the spatial confines of the scene before her. Garnet snapped out of her second stare with a small nod and a satisfied, almost undetectable smile. But Alan saw it. And so, too, did Pearl.
"I wonder what she saw?"
Alan turned to face her. "What she... saw?" He spun his head, looking all about him for some incredible object or eye-catching phenomenon. But, no. There was nothing. Just him, dressed in a blue jacket with a yellow star, sitting cross-legged in the sand, and surely looking as confused as he felt. "Should I ask?"
"No," Pearl responded curtly. "But... thank you for asking. Whether you should ask, that is. Now, shall we continue with our-?"
Alan's stomach grumbled. Loudly, much to Pearl's quiet dismay. The two looked at his stomach, then at each other.
"I guess I've been here a while. And I didn't really have time for breakfast."
"What were you doing this morning before you arrived, then?"
Ah. A good question.
"Mostly... not leaving bed. Then not taking a shower. Then not leaving said shower."
Pearl made a 'huh?' face, suggesting to Alan that his explanation was lacking.
"It was cold, and I was very slow to commit to any action that would make me colder."
Pearl's 'huh?' face turned into an 'ah' face. "In that case, maybe you should go get something to eat. If, you know, eating is your... thing." Pearl said the last part with a slight shudder, shaking away some unpleasant thought or another.
"That's a good idea," Alan agreed, muffling another protest from his stomach with both arms.
"Yes. Yes, it is a good idea. Please return no later than one hour. We still have a lot to cover if we want to get to the mechanics behind basic single-particle-to-single-particle transdimensional interaction!" Pearl clasped her hands together giddily at the thought of continuing her confusing lesson.
No, that's not it, Alan thought, standing up and waving Pearl a temporary goodbye. Her lesson's not confusing; she's actually doing quite a good job at introducing novel material to someone entirely foreign to the subject. Well, not entirely foreign; the stuff about conventional particle interaction is easy. It's all of this transdimensional stuff that's making it confusing.
Alan made his way to the boardwalk, resolved to get something from the pizza place Greg had told him about yesterday. Yes. It is confusing. But... maybe all I need is a little more time with the mathematics. Once you understand the rules underlying a system, its machinations gain context. Then, it all just... fits. The same with electromagnetism. The same with gravity and the nuclear forces and quantum mechanics.
Coming upon Fish Stew Pizza, Alan looked skeptically at what was supposed to be an appetizing sign. The fish arranged in intersection with the pizza made him wonder if this was the right choice. It's just another system. Another set of equations with another set of definitions and another set of special symbols and operations and rules. I can figure this out. I just... I just need time.
"Welcome to Fish Stew Pizza!" Alan snapped back to attention. It was the girl at the counter; someone who Alan was certain he had never seen before. And, thus, someone who had never seen him before, either. Alan gave her a small wave and a timid smile. I have to figure this out. I owe Pearl that much, what with all the effort she's going through to teach me the material. She even made up that plastic-wrap egg thing. How can I doubt her commitment after that?
"May I have two slices of cheese, please? O-of cheese pizza, of course. I, um... yeah. I don't want two big slices of... of just cheese." The girl gave Alan a puzzled look. Then, parsing his order, she started laughing quietly to herself while initiating a practiced series of button presses on the register. Yes. This is my task. This is my assignment. I will learn this material. Pearl will succeed in teaching it to me. And, maybe, when all is said, and written, and explained- maybe then I can find out whether this is something real.
The girl placed two slices of pizza atop a double layer of paper plates, sliding them across the counter. Alan, in return, offered her several crinkly, well-worn one dollar bills, which she efficiently exchanged for a small handful of change. She thanked him with a little wave. Alan thanked her back with a small bow, hands occupied keeping the pizza from dripping all over the floor. If it's not, then what will I have lost? A week or two otherwise spent doing nothing to advance science? To forward my field? To... to actually make something of myself?
Alan sat down at a small table near the front window. As he took a large bite of his first slice, he immediately felt better. The principles of transdimensional particle interaction are confusing and difficult to grasp. Pearl is committed to presenting them to me. I will learn them.
Alan swallowed; it was good not feeling so empty anymore. And whatever Pearl feels I shouldn't know... maybe she'll feel that I'm ready to know later. I won't pressure her.
Alan's legs hung loose beneath his chair, protesting at their prolonged use with a dull ache. Alan groaned. I'll ask Pearl to make this a sitting lecture from now on.
